Our flights were cancelled again Friday due to weather. This is getting old fast. We are eager to get going with our work, and the daily routine of packing up and being ready then getting cancelled is taking its toll on us. We agreed to take the weekend off and do things besides work. While McMurdo staff has a 6-day work week, physicists can be rather driven and work 8-day weeks for months at a time (c.f. the last half year).

I imagine Holiday celebrations McMurdo style are atypical. Thanksgiving Saturday started with most sleeping in, a light brunch, and a huge dinner (cafeteria style, but on white linen tables). The food was awesome, and most people dressed up, with a few suits and many dresses. All the women looked gorgeous. Afterwards a band called "Condition Fun", including an IT specialist who's been helping us, played at one of the three bars: Gallagher’s Pub (the other two are: Southern Exposure and the Coffee House). Maybe 50 people squeezed into the space to listen and drink. Also, the basketball gym was converted into a party room for "Freezing Man" with all sorts of things -- hug booth, anonymous interpretive dance screen, black lights, group art board, photos of the Nevada Burning Man event. Here's a blurry shot of me swinging a hula hoop with my neck (completely sober, btw).

Sunday, our team at UCI sent us some new software which fixed a puzzling issue with our system and everyone was very excited. Joulien and I also climbed Ob Hill (Observation Hill, 750ft) -- a 20min-each-way hike up the steep partly-razorback ridge to the closest peak to McMurdo. The view was amazing...it felt much more like being on some alien planet being surrounded by vast white, ground and sky. Very refreshing. Here are some pics.

It's Monday morning now, and the wind is still a little high at our destination so we're on hold. It looks like we may make it 110km over Minna Bluff to our site very soon. On the down side, we hear the Internet link over the mountains to the ice shelf has stopped working. So you may not hear from me for while. While there, we will be checking in daily with McMurdo Operations by satellite phone and we'll have a backup HF radio (reminiscent of WWII technology but without the hand crank). I can't wait to make more ice-blocks :)